Odile's Swan Lake
by Artemis45187
Summary: What if it had been Odile that the prince had actually fallen in love with, and Odette was actually the evil one? Rated T just in case...
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is going to be a weird cross of the Swan Lake ballet and the Swan Princess movie...just thought I'd clear that up...**

* * *

"ODILE!" my father boomed, bursting into my chamber with force enough to tear my door part off its hinges.

"What is it, Father?" I ask tiredly, looking up from the book I am reading and carefully placing it on the crimson and midnight sheets of my bed. I move myself into a more upright position, my eyes never leaving my father.

"Great news, my child," he replied exuberantly. "You're going to have a new mother!"

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh? And is she going to end up as a slug as well?" I question snidely. Honestly, my father fell in and out of love as a dancer goes through shoes.

"Now, now Odile, that's unkind" An injured look play across my father's features.

I sigh and glance away. "I know father." I look back at him imploringly. "Forgive me?"

His face softens into a warm smile. He walks over to me and puts a warm hand to my cheek. "Of course, my sweet. I can understand where your anger and unrest stems," he concedes. "My last brides been…ill-suited to us, have they not? This one though, this one is the one, I just know it!"

I giggle for a moment then ask, "So who is my soon-to-be mother?"

My father's eyes light up. "Her name is Odette, and she is the princess of a kingdom known as the Kingdom of the Swans. Swans have always flocked to that kingdom, and, for a time now long past, they were worshipped as gods and sacred animals. And Odette, Odette is as gorgeous and as pure as any swan. My beautiful Odette…" My father goes on, mumbling sweet nothings about her.

I laugh again. "So, father, has she fallen for you yet? Do you have her running to her father, _begging _to be allowed to marry you?"

A look of embarrassment comes over his face and he reached a hand back to rub the back of his neck. "Uh…she's swooning, and I have her running somewhere…"

The smile that was sitting on my face quickly became a scowl. "How DARE she! She knows you not! To have her looking at outward appearances…I do not wish for a mother such as that!"

"Odile…"

"No!" I cut him off. I will admit that we are no longer the gorgeous humans that we once were. Black magic does that to people…we get out power from nature, so we become a part of it. The transformation was much kinder to me than it was to my father.

My father had always been a large man in muscle, height, and gut, and now bulged to new heights. A near giant he was now, towering over most men and out muscling them all. His now tree bark brown eyes bulged near as much as his torso. His hair was now the dark green of leaves deep within our forest, and his skin was the color of meadow grass in the sunlight.

My changes were just as monstrous, but in a softer way. My raven black hair was now made of raven feathers. My skin is as pale as the moon, and my eyes are the red of the dying sun, and my pupils are slit like the snake I am often compared to. My finger nails are now the claws of a predator. My teeth have grown into fangs. From my back sprout the wings of a raven, which has now become my symbol. I am a beautiful monster. People sometimes forget to look at the beauty in nature, and sometimes they forget to see the ugly, cruel things, which is what my father and I represent.

"So what does this swan-woman think of us, father? Does she find us as disgusting as you make it seem she does? For if that is true, she will last no longer than the others."

"NO! She WILL last. Her heart is different than that of those past. She is right for us Odile, I promise."

_Then why, father, do I feel so worried now?_

* * *

**Sorry it's so short...chapters will get longer, hopefully...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, chapter is longer. I apologize if any of this sounds strange, perspective wise. I'm not used to writing in present tense. It's really hard, so forgive any oddness.**

* * *

Having been angered, my father rises to leave. As he reaches my door, he turns to say, "Just wait, Odile. You'll see. She'll be different. You'll see." He continues out my door, violently pulling it back into place.

I sigh. Father always gets like this when he falls in love... My gaze falls back to my still damaged door. I call up my power, fix my door, and I return to my reading. As always, my book contains new spells to try out. I'm forever searching for new spells. Living the life that I do, it is often the only thing TO do. I'm currently looking for more effective transformation spells...

My head snaps up. I suddenly have an idea. Why not go and grant this _Odette_ a little _visit_. A smile spread slowly across my face. I carefully mark my place in my book and rush out of my room, heading for our library. My room resides at the top of our home, which seems to most to be nothing more than a tree. To us though, it is the top of our fortress. I like where my room is, due to the fact that it gives me easy access to the night when I want to enjoy the moon and darkness. It can be a discomfort when the sun rises and manages to find openings in the leaves to beat its cruel rays down onto me.

Racing along branches covered with foliage and creatures created from magic, I quickly get to the center trunk, which is large enough to encompass an army. Pushing on a knob growing out of the trunk, a door swings open and I race down the stairs that are carved into the tree. Cold-fire torches light the way down the spiral path, cold, so as to not burn down the top of our home. And a large tree we have, miles into the sky. As usual, I get bored running, open my wings, and fly the rest of the way down. It is much faster than running, and far less tiring.

As I reach the bottom, I pull in my wings, and continue my journey on foot, through a large stone door, which leads to more stairs, leading downward once again. These stairs are tighter though, with no hope of flying down. They also go much father down, seeing as how our main home must be far below the earth to protect us from the sun's harsh rays and any...enemies. Enemies being humans that think we, and our magic, wrong. I hate them all, those who would judge us for being different. Thus is why I suggested to my father to enchant our forest, so that those who come in to harm us may never find their way out.

I eventually find the bottom of the steps. To most, it would seem as if the steps just ended at a gray stone wall. They would be wrong. I grab a roundish stone jutting out of the wall and heave open a large door cunningly hidden within the stone.

Beyond the door is an opening to a stone hallway matching the stone of the door that runs left and right. I turn left, running quickly through the hall. Soon, the stone turns from the cold gray color to a glowing emerald. The precious stones are another reason people have perished. Those that have discovered the way into our lair have most often become entranced by the large number of gems in our home. They have stopped and tried to pry large chunks from our walls, which allows us knowledge of their exact position and gives us time to prepare for their demise.

Again and again our walls change, switching between rock, earth, root, and gems. Numerous doors light my route, as well as torches. I finally reach my destination. Our library, full of spell books written by other users of the Forbidden Arts, as well as ourselves. Guarding it is a thick veil of roots that are as large as vines that hang down from our tree. They only react, calmly, to my presence or that of my father's. To anyone else, they turn into a living death, focused only on strangling outsiders. No one will touch our library.

I reach out to the vine-like roots. They curl around my arm for a moment, and then pull back like a curtain to some stage show. As I hurry through, they fall silently back into place. Our library is illuminated not with fire, but with diamonds that we have endowed with inner light. The library is the most natural room we have, though it is decorated in rubies, onyx, and gold. The actual shelves are made from wood from our own tree, much of the decoration colored vines. And the true gem of it all: our books. Books of every size and age line the walls and reside in stacks along the shelves and chairs.

I know exactly what I'm looking for. I head straight for the self transformation books. Transformation spells are difficult to keep up, due to the fact that they take a large amount of energy and magic to keep up. Though, even if it were possible to hold one forever, due to my father's and my choices, we would never be able to transform forever. Granted, we can keep one up for longer than most other, it is still not overly impressive. That happens to be something my father is working on, how to make a transformation last.

I start pulling books, looking for the most simple, but least obvious spell I can dind. It is not simple. Most either take time or ingredients that I do not possess. I let out a sound of frustration. How sad it is that I, who know this library best, am not to locate a simple spell book. My eyes finally land on one that I hadn't already checked. Leafing through it, I find just the spell I'm looking for.

"Odile?" I hear my father call from somewhere with the labyrinth of passageways. "Is that you?"

"Yes father," I reply quickly, grabbing the book and hurrying out of the library. The roots let me pass with no trouble, seeing as how they already had registered my presence before. I hurry off, hoping that my father doesn't see me.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" his voice echoes after me in a confused maner.

"I'm heading out, father. Out of the forest I mean."

"Be careful, Odile. You know the harshness of the world."

"I know, father, I know..."


	3. Chapter 3

For once, running back up to my room seems to take less time than running down from it. Once in my room, I gather my clothes quickly and throw them into a satchel. Thinking suddenly, I slip the book under my clothes so that my father doesn't see it in case he decides to stop me before leaving for some reason or other.

Grabbing my already spelled cloak, which hides my wings and other features, from eyes, but not touch, I run back out of my door. Before putting my cloak on, I head for the big opening between the branches of our tree. Standing for a second, I breathe in the smells of the air and earth, and then I let myself fall.

In seconds, my wings have caught me and I'm soaring into the sky. Some days, as the sun burns my back and wings, I feel like how Icarus must have felt when his wings began to melt as he flies too close to the sun. It almost makes me wish for the days before the Forbidden Arts. That scares me, for the Forbidden Arts are all I have left, besides my father.

I shake my head to banish these thoughts and beat my wings harder. I put my mind to the task ahead, infiltrating the Kingdom of the Swans to investigate this 'Odette' person. I don't trust her for some reason, and I'm going to find out why. My intuition is never wrong, and it is shrieking to me that there is something wrong with the girl.

All of these thoughts raced through my mind as I flew and searched for an opening in the forest that our lake resided in. It was not long before I spotted it, clear and calm, the brightest place in our forest, yet also the darkest. Our lake absorbs whatever light it is given, be it dark or light. At night, it is the most beautiful.

I land softly on the banks of it and look deeply into it. I whisper some words of old, and the lake begins to glow. Soon, the face of a blond girl around my age appears. She wears a crown in the shape of a swan. She is beautiful, but there is a cold air around her. The girl is Odette.

I stare at the girl, shocked that she is about the same age as me. My father has NEVER looked to women this young. It worries me greatly. The 'Odette' girl is surrounded by men, probably suitors. She is giggling and flirting with them, yet ignoring them at the same time.

_She IS cold, _I think to myself. _She's just toying with them._

My anger flairs up in a wave of heat, making my face flush. I cannot believe that my father would fall for one such as her. This just will not do. I must change things quickly. If I do not, I fear for my and my father's future.

Throwing on my cloak, I storm into the trees. The light that has been scorching at me vanishes suddenly, leaving me feeling cool and refreshed. I glance up, grateful for the thick foliage and close branches that block out nearly all sunlight. It is the haven I long for outside of the tunnels beneath the earth.

I move quickly through the trees, knowing the layout like the back of my hand. Animals scamper about, ignoring my presence, completely unafraid. Things have been this way since I began using the Forbidden Arts. Animals are rarely afraid of me, unless I use my power, or intentionally threaten them.

The calmness that was beginning to settle is suddenly broken by the call of a swan, far above my head. Odette swamps my mind, making my anger flare once again. Her calculating look is all I can see as I force my way through the dense forest.

So focused on her I am that I don't notice the horse and rider coming at me until the poor beast rears, near throwing his rider. I gasp in surprise and drop to the ground from old instincts. The horse lets out a frightened cry and rears up again. I look up, frightened, knowing that when frightened, animals can be extremely dangerous, so I had reason to fear for my wellbeing.

"Calm, horse, calm," a quiet voice suddenly calls out. The horse immediately calms a bit and a hand reaches out to grab the reins to steady the scared animal. I glance up and behold the most beautiful man in the world. He has short, light brown hair, with brown eyes to match. He is tall, and looks quite strong. He is not much older than me, but old enough to be considered a man. I stare, transfixed, as he aids the shaken rider. They speak, but I hear nothing of it, though I see nothing but the man's lips and the way they move to form words.

"-right?" I am forced from my staring state as I notice them looking at me, as well as directing a question my way.

I flush scarlet. "P-pardon me?"

The man smiles warmly. "I asked if you were alright."

"O-oh, yes, thank you."

"Hey," the other man barks, "show proper respect to the prince!" This man is quite the opposite of the beautiful man. He is stout and rather round. Though he looks strong, he looks like he gained his muscle from doing manual labor, while the other man looks like he had gained his from more elegant means. Which would make sense seeing as how he's apparently a…

"Pri-prince?!" A prince? Near our forest? This is not good. A prince means a kingdom, and a kingdom means people that have a need for wood and game. They could try to invade my forest!

"Yes, I am indeed a prince. Are you not from around here?" the prince asks with genuine curiosity on his face.

"Ah, yes of course I am. I suppose I was just unaware the prince was so young." It is not the best story, but it must do for now. I pray to my gods that they do not say or ask any more unusual things.

"Girl," the rude man says, "that's the Cursed Forest, is it not? What is such a small waif such as yourself doing wandering around the forest?"

I'm tempted to turn him into the pig that he is, but manage to control myself. Instead, I say the carefully crafted lie that I have been force to remember, in case a situation such as this should arise.

I allow my face to slowly slide into and expression of fear and worry. "Oh! It's my father." Fake tears well up in my eyes. "He went out hunting midday yesterday and hasn't returned yet. I've been quite worried. We live alone, you see. My mother died when I was just a babe, and father has yet to remarry. I was so scared to be on my own, so I came searching for him. I fear the worst." The tears spill down my face.

I watch their expressions turn from curiosity to pity, sadness, and guilt. Quickly, I bury my face in my hands, and my shoulders shake, but not from tears. Men are so easy to deceive. They never suspect a poor, frail girl to be anything but that. 'Waif', the poor rider had called me. He has no idea that I am considered an equal in my circle of people, if not above them. The stupid oaf.

A sound suddenly causes me to look up. The prince has kneeled down in front of me, his eyes level with mine. My face flushes once again, and I scramble back with a start. A smile passes across his features briefly before it disappears behind his somber façade.

"I swear to you, we WILL find your father." Another quick smile. "No one as pretty as you should be left unprotected." My heart begins to flutter faster than the wings of a hummingbird.

He stands suddenly. "Come, Landon! We must begin the search!"

"Now, your majesty?" Landon shoots me a look of pure hate.

"Yes, we can't leave this poor girl all on her own, now can we?" He looks incredulously at his companion.

"I…I suppose not, majesty." Landon hangs his head momentarily. As it rises, I see anger tight around his eyes. Other than that, he looks perfectly composed.

The prince turns his attention back to me. "Now…" He gives me a lost look. I realize he is asking for my name.

"Odile," I say, scarcely above a whisper. I blink in surprise. That was one thing I was taught, even before the story I just recited: never tell anyone your true name. I have just broken my father's number one rule.

"Odile…" the prince says thoughtfully. He seems to be tuning it over in his mind, examining it. He smiles suddenly. He seems to do this often. "What a pretty for a pretty girl. My name is Siegfried."

"Siegfried," I repeat quietly, still in shock that I gave him my name. Also that he thinks it is pretty.

I receive one last smile before he is leaping back upon his horse and charging into the forest, Landon quick at his heels.

I watch after them for a moment before muttering a quick spell and sending a message to my father over the wind that there are intruders. No matter how beautiful or kind someone is to me, I will not tolerate outsiders within my home.

With one more glance at the place where the two men entered my domain, I turn and walk away, once again set on finding out more about Odette.


End file.
